Albert Wetland and Wildlife Area
Water enters the wetland from rain events and runoff
Macroinvertebrates recycle nutrients and provide food Amphibians indicate good water quality PHOTO: KIP LADAGE
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OWNED AND MAINTAINED BY THE BENTON COUNTY CONSERVATION BOARD
380 PHOTO: IOWA FLOOD CENTER
OWNED AND MAINTAINED BY THE BUCHANAN COUNTY CONSERVATION BOARD
Water is slowed and filtered by aquatic plants
A watershed is an area of land that drains to a common waterbody — like a river, stream or lake.
Middle Cedar Watershed
PHOTO: KIP LADAGE
This wetland is located within the Middle Cedar River Watershed. The Middle Cedar Watershed is a 1.5M-acre watershed that spans parts of 10 counties in Eastern Iowa. This entire wetland complex is 20 acres with an 8.5-acre pool area and treats about 120 acres of drainage. Wetlands act as a giant sponge, cleaning water by absorbing pollutants and reducing flood risks by storing excess water, and provide a valuable wildlife habitat.
FUNDERS
Outlet for clean water to leave the wetland
Learn more! Middle Cedar Watershed
Wetlands are some of the most biologically productive natural ecosystems in the world, comparable to tropical rain forests and coral reefs in their productivity and the diversity of species they support. Wetlands like this one contribute to the national and local economies by producing resources, enabling recreational activities, and providing other benefits, such as pollution control and flood protection.
Wetlands are Iowa’s most diverse ecosystems
Managed by Benton County Conservation
Benton County Conservation Board
LEARN MORE AT IOWAFLOODCENTER.ORG
Iowa Watershed Approach marks five years of success BY: RICHARD LEWIS
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2016, with a nation reeling from years of natural disasters, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) made available $1 billion to help bolster the country’s extremeweather defenses.
The IFC, working with partners statewide, won $97 million—the fourth-highest total awarded—for a project called the Iowa Watershed Approach (IWA). Five years later, regional groups centered around watersheds in Iowa have been organized. These watershed management coalitions, with support from IWA’s leadership, have overseen the building of 800 floodreduction structures across the state, from Fremont County in far southwest Iowa to Winneshiek County in the state’s northeast corner. All told, the structures, ranging from simple ponds on farmland to elaborate, erosion-stabilizing projects on riverbanks, have reduced flooding from historic highs by as much as 20 percent in some areas. And they have cleaned the water, too. “We’ve increased the understanding of people throughout Iowa about water,” says Larry Weber, co-founder of the Iowa Flood Center and the visionary behind the HUD funding application. “I think Iowans now better understand how floods happen, how they impact watersheds, and the effects on their communities. They better understand issues around water quality, too.”
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IOWA ENGINEER 2022
